[agumonkey]

Didn't they just gave free access to some email system they bought ? They didn't invent anything, except for giving away a full mail service, while other free alternatives at the time only gave you half finished UIs, slow roundtrip times and very limited space.

Same for maps, free access to very satisfying service, not inventend at Google. Personally that's what made me love Google, they turned my computer into something more than office/game/medias, for "free".